David cameron could not have tried harder to end Syria's conflagration this week. At the G8 summit he hosted in Northern Ireland, the prime minister cajoled Russia's President Vladimir Putin to drop his Syrian ally, Bashar Assad, or face the prospect of Western countries arming his rebel enemies. Just briefly, Mr Cameron paused to take an icy dip in a nearby lough, then he badgered Mr Putin some more. Yet it takes more than British persuasion to change the Russian leader's mind, and the summit achieved nothing much for Syria's people. That was wretched. But it at least saved Mr Cameron a headache at home.
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